Oil gas generator



Jan. 24, 1933. f B, HARRls. 1,894,990

, n. @As GENERATOR origial Filed Nov. 9. 1929 ATTGQN EVS www Patented Jan. 24, 1933 UNITED AsTA'rizsv `PATENT OFFICE LEONARD B. HARRIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

vOF DELAWARE on. Gas GENERATOR Application led November 9, 1929, Serial No. 405,913. `Renewed April 16, 1982.

This inventionrelates to an oilgas generator and process of producing gas from hydrocarbon oils by causing the same to react with steam. The oil and steam are. heated to a high temperature by means of a heating medium, such as hot products of combustion, for example, that does not come into. actual contact with the oil and steam.

In carrying out the invention, the oil is atomized and fed into the gas generating retorts where the oil meets jets of steam and reaction takes place, there being one individually hydraulically and intermittently operated atomizer for each retort. The invention also includes means by which th'e supply of the` gas making mediums to the oil gas generating retorts can be accurately controlled, with respect to the time of' admission of the gas making mediums, the quantitv delivered and the sequence in which the retorts operate.

The invention will be understood from the description in connection with the accompanying drawing in which'Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the oil gas generator with a gas scrubber shown partly in side elevation and partly in section attached to the oil gas generator; and Fig. 2 is a vertical section through one of the retorts in entirety together with its individual hydraulically and intermittently operated atomizer.

In the drawing, reference character 1 indicates a metal container, preferably circular in cross section, that is lined on the inside with refractory material 2, such as brick; The lower portion 3 of the container represents the combustion chamber proper into which fuel can be introduced through the side walls of the device by means of burners (not shown), or in any other convenient or desirable way. The top of the container 1 is covered by means of the metal plate 4 that is provided with an voutlet atthe center towhich the stack 5 for waste products of combustion'i's connected. A damper 6 is provided in this stack.

An annular header 7 made of a high heat.

resisting alloy containing a metal such as nickel, for example, which will act as a catalyst, is'connected to the lower side of the cover 4 and surrounds the opening through the opening for the stack 5.

A row of tubes 12, containing a very high pelcentage of nickel or other catalyst, corresponding in numbers and centers to the retorts 9, having smaller external diameters than the internal diameters of the retorts 9, extends throughthe cover plate 4 almost to the bottom of the retorts 9 and have' their lowerendsopen. The upper ends of the tubes 12 are threaded and are screwed into threaded openings in the plate 4. Lock nuts 13 clamp the tubes in place in'the plate 4. Atomizers 14, to be described later, are located at the upper open ends of each of the res ective tubes 12. A pipe 15 from a source o water (not shown) and having a hand controlled valve 16, av regulating contactor 16 and a sight feed 16 leads to a heating coil 17 that is located in the lower end of the stack 5. A pipe 18 leads from the coil 17 to the annular headerv 19 located above the plate 4.

Branch pipes 20 lead from the header 19 to the atomizers 14.

. An oil reservoir 21 contains a plurality of single acting intermittently actuated and individually timed "oil measuring pumps 48 of a well known sort, and pipes 22 lead from these pumps to the respective atomizers 14.

It is to be noted that the word timed as applied to the pumps, employed in combination with the other apparatus comprising this invention, relates to the sequence or rotation in which the impulses or delivery strokes ofthe individual pumps are related with respect to each other, such as overlapping or staggered, and that the respective retorts and atomizers being cooperatively associated with the pumps, the retorts also operate in overlapping or staggered rotation.

It is also to be noted that while only one oil pump 48 is visible in the end viewv of the tank or reservoir 21, shown in Figure 1, it is to be understood that there is a plurality of other similar pumps 48 behind and in line with the one shown, as just mentioned.

An oil gas outlet pipe 23 leads from the header 7 to a gas scrubber 24 of a well known type. The outer periphery of the scrubber 24, being partly broken away to show a Water level therein as indicated by W. L. A valved branch pipe 25 is connected to the pipe 23 and a branch pipe 26 leads into a sump 27 that contains liquid of sufficient depth to seal the lower end of the branch pipe 26. A pipe 28 for washed gas leads to a gas box 29 from which a pipe 30 with a test cock 30 leads to a gas main or place of consumption of the gas which is not shown.

Each one of the atomizers 14 (Fig. 2) at the upper ends of the tubes 12 comprises a body portion 31, having a iange 32 that rests upon the upper end of the tube 12. A threaded thimble 33 keeps the body portion 31 in iirm contact with the tube 12. An opening 34 is provided in the side of the atomizer for the pipe 2O and a port 35 leads from the opening 34 to an annular space 36 at the lower end of the body portion 31. A ring 37 having a series of holes 38 therethrough is screwed upon the lower threaded end of the body portion 31 of the atomizer, so that the holes 38 communicate with the annular space 36. These holes 38 may be parallel, inclined or spiral.

A central hole 39 extends through the body portion 31 and a conically-shaped valve seat 40 is provided at the bottom. An atomizer spindle 41 with a conically-shaped lower end to form a valve is located in the hole 39. A head piece 42 is threaded upon the upper end of the body portion 31 and is provided with a central opening through which the spindle 41 extends. A hole 43 is provided in one side of the head piece 42 for the oil pipe 22. A flexible diaphragm 44 is placed at the upper end of the spindle 41 and is clamped to the spindle by threaded nuts on opposite sides of the diaphragm. The peripheral circumferential edge of the diaphragm 44 is clamped in place against a shoulder in the head piece 42 by means of a hollow threaded nut 45 screwed into the internally threaded recess 46 in the head piece 42. A compression spring 47 is interposedbetween the top of the hollow nut 45 and the upper nut on the spindle 41 tending to keep the valve 40r closed.Y The hole 43 enters the head piece 42 at a point below the diaphragm 44, so that oil under pressure entering through the pipe 22 will cause the diaphragmto yield and the spindle to lift in synchronism with the oil measuring pumps.

The operation is as follows:

The oil gas generating retorts are heated by combustion of fuel in the lower portion 3 thereof and the hot products contact with the outside of the retorts 9 and pass around the edge of the baille 10 into the stack v5. Water in an amount that is regulated by the regulating contactor 16 passes into the heater 17 where steam is generated and passes into the header 19 and from thence into the atomizers, finally passing through the holes 38 in a series of small continuous jets of steam into the tubes 12. Oil passes intermittently from the oil measuring pumps 48 in the reservoir21 through the pipes 22 into the atomizers 14 below the diaphragms 44, thereby causing the diaphragms to slightly yield by hydraulic pressure at each impulse or delivery stroke of the pumps and raising the atomizer spindles intermittently o their seats 40 to introduce the desired amount of oil to meet the steam which hasbecome highly superheated in the tubes 12 while awaiting the intermittent injection of the oil, where the steam and oil become intimately mixed. The mixture travels down the tubes 12 and upon coming into contact with the heated walls thereof becomes heated to a suiliciently high temperature to cause dissociation of a quantity of the steam present in the tubes into free hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of the nickel catalyst and reaction between hydrogen and carbon, thereby producn oil gas which passes out of the lower ends of the tubes 12 into the annular spaces between the retorts 9 and tubes 12 and thence through the annular header 7 and the pipe 23 into the scrubber and finally to the gas mains.

' It is to be noted that while the steam is supplied in continuous jets and the oil is supplied intermittently as previously mentioned, that it is advantageous to have a surplus supply of steam as the experiments on my oil gas generator have shown that the quantity of initial steam has very little bearing on the quality of the gas, as apparently the hydrocarbons combine with a delinite quantity of vhydrogen from the dissoelated steam and the sur lus steam is carried over and condensed in t e scrubber. Moreover, it is desirable to maintain a surplus of steam in order that the process mayhbe effectively carried out continuously. e excess steam also serves to prevent carbon deposits inthe retorts.

The following is 'ven as a s ic example of ca 'ng out t e process, ut it is .to be underst that the invention is not restricted to the particular example of proportions, etc.

Oil, such as petroleum for example, is intro- 'duced with steam into the tubes 12 and the oil gas generator is red at such a rate that the dividually assenso A 3 temperature around the retorts 9 is 1600 F. tained due to the said intermittent and in-kV to 1900'F. more or less. dependent operation of the retorts.

I claim: 6. In an oil gas generator, a plurali of re- 1. In apparatus for generatin oil gas, a 5 furnace, a series of vertically lsposed Aretorts extending into said furnace and having their lower ends clod, a series of tubes extending respectivel into each of said retorts and having their ower ends open and intimed atomizers attached to the upper ends of each of said tubes for introducinesteam and oil and producing oil gas in sald tu s, said atomizer having movable spinl5 dles attached to diaphragms which are means for controlling the sequence. or rotation in which the atomizers'are o respect to each other, and a hea er to which the said retorts are attached for receiving the products of said oil as generation.

2. In apparatus for neratin `oil,gas, a furnace, a series of vertically torts extending into said furnace and havin their lower ends closed and being connec 95 at their u per ends to a common header, a series oftu extending respectively into each of said retorts and having their ower ends open, individually timed atomizers at the upper ends of said last named tubes, means to introduce steam continuously into said atomizers, and to introduce oil intermittently intosaid atomizers in measured quantities.

A3.- In apparatus for generating oil gas, a furnace, an exit for waste gases at the upper portion of said furnace a series of vertically disposed tubes surrounding said exit and extending into said furnace and having their lower ends closed, a header in the upper portion of said furnace to which the upper ends l0 of said tubes are connected, another series of tubes extending into said first named series and having their lower ends open, and individual hydraulically operated atomizers to introduce steam and oil into the upper ends of each of said last named tubes by means of individual oil measuring pumps. 4. In an oil gas generatin apparatus hav-l ing a plurality of retorts an an atomizer for each individual retort, means to intermittentl0 ly atomize and introduce the oil from which the is to beinade intiisaid retorts in a predetermined sequence, and separate means for delivering a constant suppl of jets ofsteam directly into said retorts uring the oil gas generation in the .entireapparatua 5. In an oil ity of retorts, means to measure oil. and introduee it into each individual retort intermittently in a momentary period ofl time, separate means for introducing a continuous supply of. steam directly into said retorts,

said retorts'oper'ating in an overlappi se-` quence and ,generating a continuous su gas 1n the generator as a whole while the temperature of the individual retorts is mainhydraulically and intermittently operated,l

rated with I gas generator having a pluraltorts, each havin atomizer for intr hydraulic means to operate the oil admitting sgmdle of vthe atomizers. intermittently, t ereby maintaining a predetermined temperature in each individualretort, said means comprising individually timed sin le actingol measurm pumps, said pumps ing arranged in m t1 le, and having means for varying the operation of the retorts in se.- quenceor rotation.

LEONARD B. HARRIS.

a movable spin e ty ucing oil into said reto Pe lav 

